SEMCOG announces 2024 Taubman Fellows

Mayor Joe LaRussa, City of Farmington, and Mayor Michael Lesich, City of Fraser, will attend Havard program this summer

Joe LaRussa, Mayor, City of Farmington, and Michael Lesich, Mayor, City of Fraser, have been named Taubman Fellows. As Fellows, each will attend the prestigious program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University this summer.
 
Administered through SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, the Taubman Fellowship for Executive Excellence provides local public officials with demonstrated leadership an opportunity to broaden their awareness of effective approaches to public-sector problems.
 
“For more than 30 years, Taubman has supported SEMCOG’s Taubman Fellows program and its mission to provide Southeast Michigan leaders with access to the very best practices and people from around the world,” said Robert S. Taubman, Chairman and CEO of Taubman. “With the knowledge gained from this substantial program, our representatives become even more well equipped to serve our region, our State, and its people.”
 
“Taubman has faithfully supported regional leadership by sending dozens of worthy local leaders to attend the Kennedy Program at Harvard," said Amy O’Leary, Executive Director of SEMCOG. "Taubman scholars gain invaluable lessons and relationships, which they bring home to the benefit of Southeast Michigan. We are truly grateful for the company’s commitment to regional excellence.”
 
Joe LaRussa was first elected to Farmington City Council in 2017, and he became Mayor in 2023.
 
"Attending this program will definitely prepare me to serve out my current term with higher knowledge, skills, and abilities from a public service perspective and make me the best Mayor I can be," LaRussa said. "The program will also help me gain perspectives of what approaches have been successful in other areas of the country and see if we can benefit from those as well," said LaRussa. "I can use these skills beyond my own city as well as I continue my service to the region as a member of SEMCOG," LaRussa said.
 
Additional experiences include:
•              Farmington Mayor Pro Tem
•              Farmington Master Plan Committee
•              Farmington Downtown Development Authority Design Committee
•              SEMCOG Executive Committee Delegate
•              SEMCOG General Assembly Delegate
•              SEMCOG Broadband Action Team
•              Michigan Municipal League Board Member
•              Farmington/Farmington Hills Joint Municipal Broadband Task Force